The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst Character Analysis

“It’s okay to feel… emotions, it’s how we deal with them that makes us the people we are” -From the creators of Pixar’s Inside Out. Emotions are what creates who we are and what characteristics we acquire whether it’s a positive or negative. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” by James Hurst, Brother is characterized as loving but selfish by the emotions he shows towards his disabled brother Doodle. First, James Hurst portrays Brother as loving. For example, Brother was told that even though Doodle can live, he might not be “all there”, so every day he would go and watch his brother to find out if he is “all there”. It says, “However, one afternoon as I watched him, my head poked between the iron posts of the foot of the bed, he looked straight at me and grinned. I skipped through the rooms, down the

For instance, Doodle had a long list of problems that made him a burden. It says, “The doctor had said that he mustn’t get too excited, too hot, too cold, or too tired and he must be treated gently.”(345) Brother did not like to follow these rules, he did not enjoy taking Doodle out of the house. It says, “To discourage him from coming with me, I’d run with him across the ends of the cotton rows and careen him around the corners on two wheels.” (345) Brother was self-absorbed because he tried not to have Doodle come with him everywhere. He was mad about having to follow all the rules so he discouraged Doodle from even coming. Another example was when Brother taught Doodle how to walk because he did not like having a brother who was different, but in the happiness of the moment when Doodle could finally walk, he thought, “They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride.”(347) This shows that he taught Doodle to walk to benefit for himself. He felt selfish when he realized this was mostly for him and not for Doodle. He was being self-centered, and only think of the benefits for himself rather than